Category Archives: beauty

So recently, you may have been made aware of a stunning plus-size model who was utilised in a recent Calvin Klein campaign. The model – Myla Dalbesio, is undoubtedly gorgeous and even though considered plus-size, she clearly fits the beautiful criteria of a CK model.

I have to admit when I first heard the news online, due to the way the features reported the event, it came across to me that the model was a UK size 10 – which is of course considered to be slim and technically not plus-size (this begins at UK size 12). I couldn’t believe that size 10 was now considered to be ‘plus-size’, however after a bit of scoping the internet, I discovered that the model was a US size 10 – a UK size 14, and lackluster reporting had just created a misconception.

Either way it got me to thinking how much I dislike the label ‘plus-size’ in this context. These plus-size women share the same size qualities as most average women (in Britain anyway), so why should they be cornered into a place which puts them in a different, less respected category to our usual, stick-thin models.

Last weekend was an absolute privilege for me as I was invited by the lovely PR team at Highcross Leicester, to their latest Autumn Fashion Fix which was partnered with Cosmopolitan magazine.

Autumn Fashion Fix provides an opportunity for cities to experience the latest fashion trends coming to life before them, aiming to add some excitement to the often dreary, Autumn wardrobe. This year Autumn Fashion Fix paired up with Cosmopolitan magazine and their beautiful ‘Catwalk to curvy’ columnist, Laura Puddy who created an exclusive Cosmo edit for the fashion show, drawing the audience’s attention to 5 key trends of the season: Faux Fur, Tapestry Folk, Red, New Pastels and Metallics.

Faux Fur

This magical showcase blended faux fur with multiple textures creating bold layers. A breathtakingly beautiful cream faux fur jacket took centre-stage before a rather Impressive headpiece appeared. For this trend, think winter wonderland with a touch of glam, in order to create a truly striking ensemble. If you prefer to be more understated then faux fur doesn’t need to steal the limelight. Simply opt for more subtle colours or faux fur accessories such as a gilet or a quirky clutch bag. As a massive faux fur fan, this trend has to be my favourite – especially due to its love for animals!

Tapestry Folk

This trend took a leap back in time, skillfully blending a vintage feel with contemporary pieces. Materials played a key part within Tapestry Folk, providing rich colours and beautifully subtle tapestry-like prints. This trend is great for someone like me who doesn’t have the patience for meticulous outfit planning. Instead, prints can clash and silhouettes can break the boundaries. As long as the colours compliment one another, then you’re good to go. If you dare to bare those legs this winter, then protect them with a boldly coloured pair of tights. Dark purple works well with this trend in particular.

Red

From scarlet hues to deep berry tones, the red trend not only provided the audience with a massive ‘WOW’ factor, but it also gave hope for the dreary season that lies ahead, and the wardrobes that usually come with it. Models were dressed head-to-toe in brave shades of red, breaking up the ensembles with the occasional accessory, ensuring the focus revolved around the colour in question . If you deem yourself to be an outward thinking fashionista, then take the Red trend to the next level with an entire ensemble consisting of bold red pieces. Don’t worry if you prefer a minimalist look though, as one piece of red clothing is just enough to create a heavy impact. Go on, give it a go, I dare you!

New Pastels

Pastels don’t have to be reserved for the summers that we long for, instead, style this season is having a major shake up with the New Pastels trend. This elegant showcase remained clean cut with sophisticated and structured outlines, whilst fragments of femininity were injected through cute coats using a 60’s twist. This look is incredibly straight forward yet effective. All you need to do is make sure your pastel tones match the temperature outside – cool. In this instance footwear was kept subtle and streamlined, allowing the audience to get whirled away in the pastel dreamland.

Metallics

The Metallic trend provided us with the dark yet dazzling pieces that we expected for Autumn. Through multiple textures such as shimmering sequins, luscious leathers and reflective accessories, the audience was mesmerised by the display. The presentation which used blacks, golds and silvers gave off a real disco vibe, perfect for the months that lead up to Christmas (yes I said it!). Don’t be fooled by assuming that dark is dull in this case, because, it was the dark palette that stole the show with its chunky footwear and rock’n’roll energy. If you’re intimidated by the idea of a monotone ensemble then perhaps you’ll enjoy the silver metallics that have the ability to add a sparkle to any outfit. For this trend, say goodbye to girly-girl and hello to rock’n’roll.

The Experience

As soon as I entered, the atmosphere was incredible. Energetic house music filled the shopping centre as the audience eagerly awaited (myself included). As my first fashion show as a member of the press, I can definitely say that I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and have come away with a lot to learn. The organisation and styling was amazing and I could not fault it. It’s safe to say that the ensembles definitely gave me some ideas for my winter wardrobe. Best of all, the Cosmopolitan goody bags went down an absolute treat. If I could, I would relive the entire experience again, so thank you to Leicester Highcross and Cosmpolitan magazine for providing me with this opportunity! Check out some of the pics below…

For this post I’m going to be discussing my favourite beauty item – my Make-Up Academy Pro-Brow kit! Normally, when I invest in new beauty products that aren’t expensive, I’m very cynical about their potential performance. However, I was absolutely taken aback with this brow kit from Superdrug – for both price and performance.

The Make Up Academy (MUA) Pro-Brow kit was bought about a year ago and is still going strong. I went searching for it after I spotted one of my friends using it and I thought ‘I must have that’ NOW. Eyebrow pencils never seemed to work with my twitchy hands, so when I saw the price for this eyebrow kit (no more than a couple of pounds) I knew I couldn’t say no – I’m not crazy.

Thanks to the heaven above, big brows are in – meaning us big-bushy eyebrowed ladies can show em what it’s all about. When you are like me, with unruly dark eyebrow hair (‘slugs’ as I like to call them), it can be difficult to stay on top of the grooming game – one stray and I resemble something that should live under a bridge. This is where the Pro-Brow kit comes in and saves the day for me.

The kit has 4 panels – A dark eyebrow shadow, a light eyebrow shadow, a highlighter and some gel to keep your brows in place. As you can see, I have used the darker brow shadow and eyebrow gel, more than the other panels as they aren’t compatible with my darker skin colour. The kit also comes with some mini tweezers and a double ended brush – one end for thicker brows and one end for thinner brows. The pack is great for travelling or just for when you’re out and about.

For my routine I use the thicker ended brush and gently swoop through the darker shade. I slowly draw the brush from the middle of my brow towards the edge, creating a sharp point. Once the bulk of the powder has been used after the first go, I gently draw lines on the edges for the front of my brow – I don’t start with the front of my brow otherwise the edges can look too blunt and dramatic. I’ve used a little bit of Laura Mercier highlighter in this frame which helps to highlight under the brow and showcase the eyebrow shape.

Luckily, as I look after my eyebrows, they’re not in terrible shape without the powder. However, I think by filling them in, they stand out much more. You know the saying ‘never take advice from anyone with bad eyebrows’ :). Eyebrows help to frame the shape of your face, So I think it’s important to look after them. Here’s a before (left) and after (right) pic.

The difference is clearly very subtle, but I think it’s worth it. By simply filling in the ends of the eyebrow, it helps your eyes to pop!

I’m a sucker for gimmicks, especially when it comes to beauty. I’d seen a few bloggers discussing the new Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water, so when I spotted it in Boots, I thought I would try it out. Plus, with a wonderfully thrifty price tag, I didn’t even need to think twice.

With my skin in the past, I’ve definitely noticed that using a toner and cleanser routine clears up my skin blemishes really well. I’m not one to wear make-up, so when I do I ensure to look after my skin as much as possible (or find a product that repairs the damage I’ve caused when I forget to do so).

Although face wipes are incredibly handy, there’s no ignoring the sore, skin-irritation that they can cause after manic rubbing sessions. I’m definitely one for forgetting to take my make-up off after nights out, so I need something that is quite thorough – especially when it comes to mascara.

With the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water, it’s clear complexion did make me a little skeptical about it’s cleaning power. But upon application, my make-up slid of very easily. The only thing I miss from products such as this, is a bit of an oily base, helping to lift off stubborn make-up. However, the cleansing water gently pulls the make-up off in a few swipes. Although, I did feel the need to repeat certain sections with more stubborn patches of make-up.

My favourite thing about this product is how easily it cleans the groggy mascara off my eyelashes. Even if I had to repeat the motion until my eyes felt clean, the process felt gentle which is something that I search for when it comes to the eye area. Another bonus for me was the lack of sting in this product around the eyes – it was practically non-existent.

After the make-up had been cleaned off, there wasn’t a desperate need to drown my face in moisturiser either because my skin felt very hydrated. In a nutshell, this product basically makes your skin feel as if it’s just drunk a large bottle of water – completely re-hydrated and fresh.

Whether morning after the night befores or just day-to-day cleansing, the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water, maintains its promises.

If you have been following my blog recently you would have read about my fabulous internship with Good Housekeeping magazine. On my last day with the magazine, the beauty department decided to clear through their masses of free product and throw a beauty sale ‘eeeeeek’. I was incredibly lucky to be there drooling over the selection and of course I grabbed as many beauty bargains as possible (whilst attempting to maintain my dignity in case I was to ever see these lovely people again).

One of the products that I was able to grab was this NYX Setting Spray. Now, I’ve never used a setting spray before – I’m a novice when it comes to make-up tips, but I’m always searching for cool tricks to improve the appearance of my make-up. I’m not really one to wear make-up full time – in the past I’ve tried to force it, but if I’m honest I prefer to look natural and feel clean!

Prior to using the product I checked some reviews online just to see what I should be able to expect. The reviews came from far and wide, ranting and raving about this magical product. So, I eagerly gave this NYX setting spray a go. Over the first few trials I struggled to locate the miracle make-up setting qualities. However, the spray was really put to the test during my recent day at work.

I work in the center of town, so as a skint student my journey often entails a 40 minute walk into town, before and after work. On most days I am met with horribly grizzly weather, so I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to test the setting spray. To my amazement, after walking to work, plus a full day at work (involving running around like a headless chicken) and a walk home in the piddling down rain, I was absolutely delighted with the state of my make-up on my return. Usually, my Benefit blusher is the first thing to leave me during a long day, however when I arrived home it was still present with barely any signs of fading. My Laura Mercier highlighter was still glowing gladly on my cheekbones and down the center of my nose. Even my Clinique eye shadow remained in tact without any signs of cracking or fading. I was thrilled. I only used 3 pumps of the spray and I was very surprised with the holding time that the product gives. Plus as someone who hates the feeling of make-up, I was incredibly happy with the lightweight feel to the product.

Finally, the promised dewy element to the product picked up the various products on my face that used highlighting tones, which was great. I will definitely be testing this setting spray on a night out to fully put it to the test – where else would be better than a sweaty disco box?

Today started like all of the other days at the London office. I checked up on emails and carried on with returns. The editor said that often PR companies will forget about various bits of jewellery that they have sent to us, so as you can imagine, various parts of the office begin to resemble a land fill. So, today I rummaged through the endless bag of jewellery ensuring the contents made their way back to their old home or they’d be facing the bin.

Later on, I began clearing some of the employees desks for an audit – they had hoarded numerous issues of the various magazines that they represented under their desks, dating back to last year. I was also able to see the library where the old magazines are kept, which was quite cool because some of them dated back to times when I wasn’t even around. You tend to forget how far the magazine industry has come and how much it still continues to grow and advance.

As the beauty cupboard is shared with the fashion cupboard, I often came into contact with the beauty editors of the magazine – they were lovely. I overheard them prepping for a sale and I remember thinking ‘please be today, please be today’. They chucked endless amounts of beauty products into a box, when one of the girls turned to me and said ‘make sure you don’t miss the beauty sale today!’. I don’t think I hid my excitement very well and the work procrastination began until half past three when the sale would commence. The editor fetched me and we queued up for the sale in the kitchen where it was to be held. Female employees impatiently awaited with their massive holdalls, ready to be crammed with the make up and books that were on offer. I thought to myself ‘how much could they possibly buy?’.

Everyone scrambled as soon as the doors opened and the sale began. It was difficult to see what you were picking up because everyone was so on top of each other, but I managed to grab a few bits. Everything was £1 and all the books were about £0.50-£1.00 so everything was an absolute bargain. I literally couldn’t believe my eyes, I was in heaven.

I managed to get my hands on some Nars cream blush, Laura Mercier highlighter, a Clinique smokey eye palette, a Max Factor lipgloss, some NYX make-up setting spray, a Benefit foundation sample, a glossy pink lipstick, a massive tube of Charles Worthington hair mask and some wonderful books on positive thinking. To say I was chuffed was an understatement as I paid about £5 for all of it!! To add to my freebie pile, one of the girls kindly gave me a canary yellow, soft Zara clutch bag that was recently released in store – perfect for the summer. I was so thankful.

This concluded a wonderful week that I’d had at Good Housekeeping. All of the staff were wonderful. Even the more ‘stern’ editor was lovely by the end of the week. Ironically, just as I’d settled in, I was about to leave. Working with a magazine has taught me a lot about how I work and how I can also improve myself. Due to the spontaneity of a magazine, you never know when a piece of work can crop up, so it’s important to be able to think on your feet and work quickly!

All in all, a fab week which taught me some valuable lessons about the career path which I intend to go down.